5 thing you need to know before you buy a car battery charger

Car batteries can lose charge due to weather, age, or simply because the lights are on. The battery charger will get your vehicle started and back on the road.

We live in a world where cell phones have made it extremely easy and convenient to call for a mechanic at the first sign of car trouble. However, there are a lot of scenarios where this might not be an option. If you're stuck in a remote area without service or your phone's battery has died, you're out of luck. That's why it's always a good idea to have the tools you need to deal with a dead car battery, so you can get back on the road.

What kind of battery type does your vehicle use? Most likely, the answer is a regular lead-acid battery, but if you drive an RV, it probably has a deep-cycle battery. In any event, you'll have to make sure any charger you consider is compatible with your battery.

Do you want a manual or automatic smart battery charger? Automatic chargers are typically easier to use, as they regulate their charge to prevent battery-damaging overcharging, but manual chargers are better for reviving dead batteries.

How much power do you need in a charger? Do you want one that charges a battery slowly and keeps it maintained while it's not in use? Or do you want a charger that can power up a battery quickly and possibly provide a jump start, as well?

What size battery charger do you prefer? Though all of the models on the list are technically portable chargers, some are much larger than others and might therefore be more difficult to use. More powerful chargers are generally larger.

What do you want to spend on a battery charger? Again, there's typically a direct relationship between the power provided and the cost of the unit, so if you want to charge more quickly, you'll need to spend a bit more.